When you pull the cover off of the shifter box located on the column under the hood, with the shifter in the neutral position the shifter shaft should slide freely between the forks with out binding. If it doesn't then you need to adjust your linkage until it does. Also look to see that the ends of the forks are square cause if they are rounded this can cause the tranny to shift at the wrong time and cause your linkage to bind. If the forks are worn out you will have to either replace them or take them out and weld them up and grind them square. also check to see that the holes that your shift linkage go's through aren't egg shaped. If you can get everything tight, square and aligned properly your tranny will shift like new....Big Tim
Photos Tim, I took the column steering gearshift box apart and found my problem. The shifter gate had jumped out of the notches on the inner levers. The lower control shaft would rotate slightly, but would not move axially at all. I posted photos to ask you if you think the inner corners are too rounded? I did not wipe all of the grease off, so they may look a little more rounded than they are. I assume the outer "corners" of the inner levers must be rounded so it will act like a cam. I would like to find replacements for these, but as usual I cannot find the correct GM part numbers. The vendors all use different terminology for the parts and in the absence of photos, you cannot tell if you are ordering the correct part. Some of the part names are very similar for the ones in the column box and the side of the tranny. Does anyone know if the inner levers are press fit into the outer levers? It appears they are, but I don't want to go hammering on them if they are not. I could just buy a whole re-built column steering box, but where is the fun in that? Greg
Wah-hoo ! Those are JUNK ! send 'em to me IMMEDIATELY ! . Seriously , those are the best ZI've seen in 35 years , just re-assemble & adjust and it'll shift like new again . I posted the how to adjust in detail a while back , years maybe .
Your problem is on pix # 2, the inner lower corner of the left fork is rounded. It looks like what this is doing is not allowing your tranny to shift completely out of second before it down shifts in to first which is causing your linkage to bind. What I would do is build that corner up with some weld and grind it square. Then heat it up red hot and drop it in some oil to harden it. It's a simple fix and will last a long time. After that if everything is tight and adjusted properly, it should shift like new...Big Tim
Big Tim, I think that's just grease on that picture, as in picture #1 the same part looks perfect. Of course, I don't have any useful suggestions for a fix though...
The Solution Here : Is very simple : Proper adjustment after replacing the rotted rubber bushings . It is critical to have the shift lever propped up @ 3:00 and the tranny's shift arms must be in the neutral position before making the adjustments , first is the shift box then you adjust the pins on the ends of the two shift rods so the enter the exact middle of the holes on the tranny arms . If the bushings are shot , either buy new ones or make them out of PVC tubing or Nylon piping so they'll be self lubricating . Then the pins must be shimmed with thin flat washers so they're not floppy where they go through the holes on either end . Doing all this will get even a badly worn shift linkage to operate correctly , look up my older posts on ' Square Shifting ' or ' Positive Shifting ' to see how one can easily learn how to shift a badly worn out Three On The Tree and never have jamming troubles .
